@bp Seems like nobody picked up on the sarcasm.
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@OP Relative to the actual amount/level of work, yes.
Nobody who’s WC is working all that hard at any of these large operating companies. The main challenge is playing the company politics. Actual work is generally minimal and pretty easy.
@OP Fack no, AI engineers ki-l anybody here.
@aq I’m in that sandwich zone, and agree, it can be difficult. Whenever I start to worry, I reread Darren Woods’ annual commitment to you letter. I recommend printing a copy and keeping it at your desk. The company has committed to through pensions, benefits, sick time and personal leave, benefits that become increasingly meaningful as life becomes increasingly complicated and reminds me I am indeed one of the corporation’s greatest assets. Sometimes I wonder whether the company could ever default on its commitment to its employees. Then I read the letter again and feel better. Darren put it in writing. I believe in Darren.
Pioneer paid bonus excess of target every year including 2020. Ten percent match too.
@at Did you try and pass the PIP? or take the PIL?
@at Exxon pays very well and has long term benefits. RSUs are okay, only excellent this year for me.
You are possibly a little bitter due to your poor ranking?
Everyone in this thread is delusional.
Exxon pay is still pretty good. The problems are toxic ranking culture and poor job security
Here’s the problem with pensions…
That pension is going to start meaning something to you when you reach 40-54yrs.
However, that’s also when you start to show grey hair and the company thinks they definitively know you (they’ve seen your performance for 15-20 yrs). You’ll start to lose your ‘glitz’ in the company’s eyes. They’ll pivot their focus on the young, cheaper university graduate who ‘might’ be an oil genius. …or now, they’ll also pivot to the older experienced hire who they think might be better (but is completely untested.)
Also at the same time, you join the sandwich generation. You are simultaneously trying to raise older kids and care for ailing parents. This is invisible to the company, but probably means you’ve had to pull back just a bit on the work. ….just enough that the company might think you are less motivated and less productive than you used to be.
So when the pension means the most to your future, you probably mean the least to the company. It’s an awful disconnect that leads to a lot of frustration by a larger percentage of the older employees. They find the final years are a slog trying to get to retirement-eligible.
And the ultimate disconnect is that the American work culture has probably stopped valuing experience and company loyalty like they used to when pensions were the staple. It’s not just an ExxonMobil problem; it’s industry wide.
So the pension is a great benefit. Just be prepared for the frustration points along the way. And save as though you could never achieve the full payout.
I’m probably going to say some things that are very controversial to this crowd:
Pension is a huge upside, if you think you will make it to retirement age. Clearly, that is not guaranteed….but it is still quite common.
The promotion/raise system is standardized based on years of experience and performance. So if you look left and right and John and Jane, they are being moved toward the same reference salary if they have the same years experience and performance as you. Having worked elsewhere, this is not the case. At other companies, there is a lot of unfairnesses and biases in the pay system with indiscriminate salary differences between employees.
The bonuses promised elsewhere are over-rated. The people on this forum have generally never been on a bonus structure, so there is a view that bonuses pay out every year. In my experience, companies do everything they can to NOT pay bonuses and to make them as small as possible, without driving mass resignations.
Assume you will be ‘middle of the pack.’ This is just a reality of any large company that hires a bunch of smart people. If you end up being better than ‘middle of the pack’ then that is a nice surprise. But you will be disappointed if you think you will enter ExxonMobil and be fast tracked to executive immediately.
And finally, no, pay is not what it once was in the past. The company it trying to match competition in pay, not exceed competition in pay (as they did 20years ago.)
@OP
Base salary very good, annual comp probably lower than competitors due to lack of variable pay.
Carrot was always the DBPP, which our friends in HC10 (Canada, Europe, etc..) the company will do some wild stuff to reduce headcount.
Basically XOM was always “come stay for a career and you’ll retire well” with no variable pay and job security. But the job security is gone now.